Caster.



R. P. HERON..

(METER.

ArrLIoA'rIol FILED 17110.29, 1909.

Patented July 18,1911.

2 SHEETS-'SHEET 1.

R. P. HERoN.

OASTER. APPLICATION IILED DEO.29. 1909.

998,51 1. f Patented 18,1911.

` 2s BT41131112.

` pressions in one face andcorres onding pro-- v .'jections on the other. It be obvious State of New York, havev invented certain ROBERT P. HERN, OF SY'RACUSE, NEW YORK.

PATENT onirica.

CASTER.

Specicatiori of Letters Patent.

Patented July 1s, 1911.

Application filed December 29, 1909. Serial No. 535,414.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT l?. IjIiaRoN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and new and useful Improvements in Casters, of which the following is a specification. My inventionrelates to casters and has for its object the provision of alcaster-having a roller of compressible material, preferably felt-,of such construction as to afford a noiseless roller which will not injure the floor and which yet has thehigh degree of density necessary toendure without deformation the weight which it must support. These objects I lattain by my invention, various embodiments of which are` set forth herein.

In `my caster may use a roller of the character described in my copending applica-k tion Ser. No. `@0,60% inwhich felt disks of 'special form .are compressed together to produce a surface of higher density than the part of the roller next wit-hin it which I term the backing. In a caster roller, however, both the surface or tread and the backing are of considerable density. ,The felt disks referred to have their bers running toward and from the periphery and have depressions in their faces surrounding their center and extending outward therefrom, these depressions being formed by omitting or by cutting out or otherwise removing a part of thefelt. The use of such disks makes it possible to secure a tread of a very high degree of density, the structure being obviously such that this portion of the roller is compressed materially before the backing can be compressed at all. The strength of the wheel may however be still further increased bythe employment. of washers intermediate the disks, and such washers may be employed with disks of the .form described or -with disks havingl plane faces', The best results, even where disks having dished faces are employed,'I find to beisecured by using Awashers having transverse projections. I prefer to make these washers of sheet metal, preferably of sheet steel stamped, in such a manneras t'o produce rough or irregular faces and toprovide dethat the form of the ldepressions .and`,pro. y

jections may vary and that each face may have both depressions and rojections, the washer having parts in various planes. It is apparent also that the number, size, form and relative arrangement of` such projec- 4tions'anddepressions-may be varied widely.

It will be clear also that I may employ pointed teeth formed from the substance' of the washer yin any suitable way. The material of the disks isforced intimately into Aall depressions of thel Washers 'and receives all projecting parts so'that the washers are embedded in the disks and so that their irregularities help to sustain the body of the -embodiments of my invention and will no doubt'suggest others. As stated these washers 'm'ay be used with plane faced disks of uniform thickness or withdisks having dished faces. Bot-h constructions VI find in practice to be eminentlysatisfactory. The washers are, preferably slightly smaller than the end plates, but the relative size of the Washers and plates may vary, as may of course also Vthe absolute size of all the elements.

The number of the disks, the number of the.washers and the relative width of the disks aswell as their peripheral contour may obviously be varied.

:In practice I have found it satisfactory to make the aggregate thickness of the felt disks substantially twice that ofthe body ofthe finished roll/er, and I have found it desirable vin using three disks to make th'e center disk this b e given the power to resist deformation, a thoroughly satisfactory caster results.

I .have found that my' constructions above explained and morefully described hereinafter are effectiveto do this and produce casters which meet the requirements stated.

'I prefer then to employ unsized felt of Vcon-y .'siderable hardness even beforecompression,

sized feltbeing objectionable for use in a caster because sizing destroys the natural characteristics of the felt which make is useful ,for this purpose, making it harsh and likely to scratch the floor and subject to deterioration on being exposed to moisture as casters frequently are.

It will be understood that the disks must be compresed together to such an extent that they become practically unitary and present no intermediate spaces either at theperiphcross section. Fig. 3 is a cross section showing the various parts of the wheel in unassembled relation, the intermediate washers illustrating the preferred form. Fig.,4 is a similarview showing plane faced disks and Washers having concentric corrugations Without transverse teeth. Fig. 5 shows the preferred form of Washer, the views at the left and right being plan viewsof the respective'sides of the washer, and the view in the middle being a central vertical cross section. Fig. 6 shows three similar views of another form of washer having concentric corrugations. Fig. 7 shows three similar views of another form of washer having ribs of special arrangement on opposite faces and Fig. 8 shows three similar views of a fourth form of washer having radial ribs on one side.

In the figures thus described 1 represents the horn, 2 the pintle,'and 3 a-socket. The

caster whel is mounted rotatably in the horn 1 in the ordinary way on a pin 4, these parts being shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The body of the wheel consists of'disks 5 of compressible materialpreferably felt. The

faces of these disks at and outward from the center are dished or provided with depressions or eut out portions 6 of suitable depth,

extent and shape as shown in Fig. 3. A sleeve 7 serves as the support for the disks and retaining plates 8 hold the body of the wheel in place after it has been compressed, the ends of the sleeve being turned over at 9 upon the outer face of the said plates to secure the structure together. Where disks having depressions are employed the tread 10 of the wheel is more dense than the backing therefor which is designated by the reference numeral 11.

The structure above described may be used without intermediate` Washers. however to use such washers, and may do so with disks having plane surfaces as shown in Fig. 4, the irregularities in the washers furnishing vadditional support for the wheel without impairing its other qualities. .These washers may be of various kinds, a few of which are illustrated. The washer which I designate herein as the preferred embodiment is illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. This washer 12 is provided with concentric corrugations 13 on both faces and with transverse teeth 14. It is like the washer 15 shown in Figs. 4 and 6 except that it has its outer edge serrated to form the teeth 14 which are bent transversely, preferably alternately in different directions and which form a substantially continuous periphery.

The other two forms of washers 16 and 17, illustrated respectively in Figs. 7 and 8, have radial ribs or ridges 18 on one face with corresponding lgrooves or depressions 19 in the other. These ridges are -so arranged as to form between them wedges so that the tend- I prefer' ency of the materialis to Wedge between them and thereby to be supported. The

. washer 16 has in addition to the said grooves and depressions ribs 2O and grooves-21 forming what are substantially Us or Vs in form and having 'an action substantially similar to that'of the other ribs referred to.4 The ribs may be on one or on both sides.

The elements making up the wheel of the caster are shown unassembled in Figs. 3 and 4. They are assembled and compressed into the complete caster wheel in any suitablel power press. During compression lateral expansion is suitably guarded against by the provision of a press chamber of the proper shape having unyielding walls, and any tendency of the end plates to embed' themselves in the end disks may be prevented by providing each end of the press chamber with an annular ring surrounding the end plate and terminating in the plane of its inner face or preferably in a bevel beyond. said face toward the disks. As stated I use unsized felt and I do not find it necessary to use water, sizing or any other liquid but prefer to compress the disks while dry. After the wheel has been formed in this manner it is 'a thoroughly good caster and may be used without finishing, but its rather rough and unfinished appearance is unattractive to the eye. It is therefore preferably treated by any of the methods commonly employed for treating raw felt surfaces and raw surfaces of other compressible materials so as to eliminate any inequalities insure perfect uniformity in the contour o the wheel,'and,improve its appearance.

Between the center of"` the washer and its periphery lies the body of the washer, and it is in this portion of the face of the Washer that the projections roughening the same are, with the exception of the peripheral teeth, at least in part located.

What I claim as my invention is:

Il.. A caster having a horn and pintle, and a wheel rotatably mounted in said horn and comprising a dense felt body highly compressed. and forming a compressed backing and a compressed annular tread surrounding it, said felt extending continuously from the backing into the surrounding annular tread, and said annular tread being more highly compressed than said backing, retaining plates for said body, and means for securing the plates in place.

2. A. caster having ahorn and pintle, and

`a Wheel having la dense body, rotatably mounted in said horn and comprising a plurality of feltl disks highly compressed and forming a compressed backing and a compressed annular tread surrounding it, said felt extending continuously from the backing into the surrounding annular tread, and

said annular tread being more highly compressed than said backing, retaining plates, and means for securing the plates in place.

3. A caster having a horn and pintle, and a Wheel rotatably mounted in said horn and comprising a sleeve, plates on said sleeve, and felt disks on the sleeve between said plates having parts of their faces surrounding the center cut away at and continuously outward therefrom, the disks being compressed together and being retained in place by the plates.

4. A caster having a horn and pintle, 'and a Wheelrotatably mounted in the horn and having a dense body of compressible ina-- terial, a sheet metal Washer Within said bod v of but slightly less diameter than said Indy and having faces roughened by projections lying atleast in part on the body of the washer between the center and the periphery thereof, said Washer being embedded in said body, and retaining plates for the body.

- 5. A`caster having a horn and pintle, and

a Wheel rotatably mounted in the horn and comprising a plurality of felt disks, one or more sheet metal Washers intermediate sai'd disks and having concentric corrugations, these elements being compressed together to embed the faces of the Washers in the material of the disks thus highly compressed,

and retaining plates for the dense body thus formed.-

G. A caster having a horn and pintle, and a Wheel rotatably mounted in the horn a'nd comprising a plurality of felt disks, one or more sheet metal washers of but slightly less diameter than said disksintermediate said disks having indentations in one face and corresponding projections on the other and having transverse teeth adjacent its periphery, these elements being compressed together to embed the faces of the washers in the material of thedisks thus highly compressed, and retaining plates for the dense body thus formed.

7. A caster having a horn and pintl'e, and a Wheel rotatably mounted in the horn comprising a plurality of felt disks and intermediate sheet metal Washers having a diameter but slightly less than that of the felt disks, having projections from their faces at varying distances from their centers and embedded in said felt disks, and retaining plates.

Signed by me at Syracuse, New York, this 29th day of October 1909.

ROBERT P.- HERON.

Witnesses:

RAE E. KAPLAN, FRANK R. LEMRoL. 

